A Heart of Blood and Ashes (A Gathering of Dragons) by Milla Vane

My Rating: Four out of Five Stars

My Review on Goodreads

I started this one on audiobook a long time ago and it had to go back to the library before I was very far into it. But I was intrigued enough to buy a copy on Audible. I have been listening to this at night, which is not something that I'd advise. I would fall asleep and have to rewind it multiple times. I think I fell asleep on the same scene at least twice and had to rewind it. However, sometimes I do this when it takes a while for my brain to unwind. This alone is is why it took so long to finish. I was very torn about the rating and I'll discuss why.

Do you ever read a book where you instantly fall for one of the characters, but are rather 'meh' about the other? That was me with this book, I loved Yvenne. I love me a tormented heroine. I love when the heroine is vulnerable and unsure, but has a core of strength and has to gain confidence in herself. I was fully onboard for Yvenne and watching her evolution. I honestly didn't think that Maddek deserved her. By the end of the book I was a little more okay with him, and I loved how he proved himself at the end. But he put Yvenne through a lot of crap along the way.

While some aspects of the worldbuilding were not super clear, I did appreciate the uniqueness of the setting and the overall backstory. Honestly, I would have loved more of the dark fantasy aspects, but I get this was a romance book, so that had to take a back seat to the romance story. At times, that was what kept me reading. I was not always feeling the romance, so the fantasy aspect captured me. I loved how Yvenne was goddess touched and the goddess saw through her eyes. Her eyes were a very unique moonstone/silver blue color. Loved that. It seems like reptiles fill a lot of the ecological niches and that was weird in a good way. Would I want to eat some of the meat they ate? Nope! I liked the concept of the way Marrek's society/tribe worked. They felt kind of a like a semi-nomadic kind of group. I did get some Khal Drogo Dothraki vibes, and I'm okay with that. I liked their warrior culture. What I didn't like was how crappy he treated Yvenne. I realize that he was grieving and was angry and was looking for someone to blame, but I think it was pretty clear early on that Yvenne was a good person wasn't responsible for his parents' betrayal. But he just wanted revenge and that's all he saw.

I like a sexy bargain, I won't lie. I liked how Yvenne used what she had available to make a deal with Marrek. She knew he hated her, but he hated their mutual enemy more. I can see why he fell for her, but I don't see why she fell in love with him. Sorry, but I just didn't buy it. He was too mean and the safety he offered was negligible, only slightly better than what she faced with her father and brothers. However, she was in between a rock and a hard place. Having said that, it had kind of a Harlequin Presents (mean hero, sweet heroine) vibe in a fantasy setting that I was intrigued by.

I know it's a me thing but it was too focused on the eroticism for me. I know a lot of it is because I haven't been in such a romance novel kind of mood lately. I found myself getting pulled out of the story when the love scenes happened. Maybe because it seemed more like hate sex on Marrek's part. I liked how Yvenne told Marrek exactly what he needed to hear. He needed that "come to Jesus moment," although he still needed to pull his head out of somewhere. I loved the other members of his Dragon (which is his band of warriors). I grew to appreciate each and every one of them. I loved that they saw Yvenne more clearly than dumbo Marrek did.

The audiobook narrator was very good. They got me very engrossed into the storyline and I feel like they nailed the voices. She captured the fantastical moments and the action really well.

This is one of those books where the conclusion saves the book. I was thinking this would be a three star, but the ending bumped up the rating for me. I can do without a lot of the sex scenes, which were high on the erotica scale but it felt kind of excessive to me (ymmv), but I was intrigued by the story and I want to read future books in the series.

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Ghost Talking at Midnight

 

 

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

My Review on Goodreads

I love a good dark urban fantasy with ghosty goodness and a health dose of "what am I reading." This fits the bill. There's also a great, and unique lead narrative voice. This had a post-apocalyptic feel, after some event that caused civilization as we know it to decline. Ghosts roam around freely, and Ropa has the ability to communicate with them. For a price, she will help them achieve what they are lingering around for. A desperate, recently dead ghost asks for Ropa to help her child, but has no way to pay. Ropa is supporting her grandmother and sister, so she doesn't work for free. However, she is convinced to help the spirit, finding a sinister far-reaching conspiracy of missing children.

This is a very unique feeling young adult story with a variety of textures. Huchu's writing is very sensorial, immersing the reader in the world he had created, mostly bad with a little bit of good. There are some genuinely scary moments, along with lots of intense, thrilling sequences. While I had some ideas about where things were leading, I didn't predict the way this story was going to play out at all.

I would recommend the audiobook for this one, because it really adds to the experience. Dark, atmospheric, complex, and suprisingly humorous in parts, I enjoyed this book quite a bit.

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Heart of Darkness

 

Nightwise(Nightwise #1) by  R.S. Belcher 

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

My Review on Goodreads

This is the darkest urban fantasy book I've read so far. And that's saying something. Nightwise is definitely well named and the lead character is as dark gray as a hero can get. Some might not even call him a hero. Think John Constantine, and you're close to getting an idea of Laytham Ballard, but throw in some Appalachian style homespun and generational magical heritage. Laytham came into his power under the tutelage of his beloved granny, but she was unable to save him from the dark path he eventually ended up traveling. Many years later, Laytham has been in places that angels would fear to tread, and has perfected the ability to be highly selfish. It's not that he doesn't do good, but there's always a bit of an ulterior motive. While he's the lead character, and not exactly a good guy, he's the guy you'd want standing between you and those creatures lurking in the dark.

The writing is very good, and that made some of the scenes that much more disturbing. I'd definitely give this one a content warning for sure. I'll never forget this book, partly because of some of the circumstance under which I listened to the audiobook. I drove home in one of the worst blizzards I've ever had to drive in. I could barely see the roads, so I was praying the whole way. It was me and Bronson Pinchot's voice reading this book. There was such an eerie feeling, but at the same time it was comforting, because that voice was a point of connection as I almost blindly navigated through a sea of white. I think that in this sense I'll remember this book fondly, although at the same time, I have in some ways tried to block out some of the most skin crawling moments that I didn't want to pull out of my memory for reflection.

I am truly in love with the urban fantasy genre. I especially love occult detectives. I like my share of anti-heroes, but I suppose I like the more romanticized versions of them. Laytham is not in any way romanticized. He doesn't pretend to be a good buy. He is just himself. But I am so glad that there was one thing in the book that I was praying he would do the right thing on, and he did it. I think down deep that boy that loved his Granny so much is still there deep inside, and it's a pale light in the darkness of his heart that is a source of hope for him.

Will I read the next book? Of course I will.

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The Dark of Winter

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden (The Winternight Trilogy #1)

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

My Review on Goodreads

 I read this back in the early summer. I listened to the audiobook. I thought maybe it was a retelling of Vasilisa, but it's not that at all. It is however, a wonderful original story that delves deeply into Russian and Slavic folklore in a way that is beautiful, and also deeply unsettling.

I have always loved Winter, since I was a child. This book definitely brings home how winter can be a time of fear and hardship for people. I get that winter can be the enemy in many ways, if one doesn't have shelter, heat, and a food source. But it was a good reminder that its a privilege to have all three things in the coldest times of the year.

One of the things I really liked about this book is it continually makes the reader ask themselves who the real villain of the story is, until one comes to the conclusion that we can all be the villain in some way. In a more philosophical context, our uncontrolled emotions and beliefs (and also how we react to them) can be the enemy/villain: fear, jealousy, loneliness, grief, suspicion, ignorance, intolerance. And the villain we see in others is perhaps in some ways, a dark reflection of ourselves.

The characterization was very good. In a story like this with so many characters, that could be challenging. However, the author did know where and whom to focus on but also didn't ignore the viewpoint of pivotal, if not as prominent characters. Vasya was a great lead character. I loved how strong her sense of self was and her moral compass even in the face of the difficult circumstances it caused her to face. It was disappointing that Anna didn't have the same kind of strength. I think life could have been a lot better and different if she did.

I could read books about Russia all day. Not sure why, but it's always fascinated me. As a lifelong lover of folklore, fairy tales and mythology, I find the mythology of that country and region so enthralling to study and explore. I loved how Arden combined this fictional story filled with Russian history with the deeply held beliefs of the people, and how their faiths-old and new-are integral to who they are.

Some parts were very scary, and unsettling. The author included some elements that I didn't expect for this kind of story, but it totally makes sense for the story and is true to Slavic folklore. I didn't listen to this right before bed, as I usually listen to audiobooks either when I'm commuting to and from work or when I'm cooking. I think this could give a person some nightmares if they listened at bedtime (or maybe it's just me).

I absolutely loved how Vasya could communicate with the spirits (the old spirits/gods? of the region). I really appreciated how each one had a unique characterization and how their way of talking was unique. The narrator, Katherine Gati, was excellent. She has a really good Russian accent. I think she might have narrated Uprooted and Spinning Silver, which I also need to write reviews for.

I really enjoyed this, but it was did take a lot out of me emotionally, if that makes sense. I plan to continue the series, but I think I'll take a break.

I'd recommend this book to fans of Russian folklore in particular.

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